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Caves past and present

Over the last five years, small villages in the Granada region of andalucia have seen their population increased by British expats moving into cave houses unique to this area. Only recently have cave homes become popular with the British, but when did the phenomenon really begin and what was it like in the beginning when caves were scarcely unheard of? "Living in a cave" talks to one resident who came to rural Andalucia more than twenty five years ago.

We meet Juan, 74 in his hotel, "La Veranda" one of only two cave hotels in Spain, which is situated in the pretty hamlet of Fuente Nueva near Orce, Granada. "When we first came here we were struck as if by a bolt of lightening as to how beautiful the area was and we fell in love with the caves immediately." That was in 1977 and Juan has never looked back. Juan first discovered the caves of Granada whilst still running his restaurant in the South of France, where amongst his customers were Spaniards, from the village of Orce, working in France for the grape harvest. They told him of the famous cave dwellings of Sacramonte in the beautiful city of Granada and he became interested.

"We found the whole idea of caves very curious and whilst caravanning in Lorca, we had the opportunity to visit our friends in Orce and ultimately visit the caves for the first time." Juan and his good friend Ismael had spent many years developing old houses in France as well as running the restaurant. They also liked to travel and had spent some time living in Columbia. It was, then with this sense of adventure that they landed in a remote corner of Granada. "Arriving for the first time in Fuente Nueva was the most incredible thing for us," explains Juan. "The area was completely abandoned and a total ruin but so amazing and beautiful at the same time."

Juan bought his first cave for the amazing price of €200, which even 29 years ago was very cheap. He then went on to buy three more caves with a view to do them up and spend holidays in the area. Gradually, however Juan fell more in love with Fuente Nueva and his caves so decided to split his time equally between France and Spain. "There was no water and electric and we were living in a caravan to begin with but it was fantastic." Bit by bit, they did up their new caves, starting with Cueva Ismael which was the only one of the four previously inhabited by people and not animals. "It was clean but basic," says Juan "we had to manage with candles, tractor batteries and camping stoves."

Water was also a problem in the beginning but nothing that couldn't be overcome. Although long gone, Juan remembers there being a fountain with fresh spring water close by and is where the hamlet gets its name - Fuente Nueva meaning 'new fountain.' "Everyday we used to fill drums from the fountain and bring them back so we could, wash and cook." Showering involved a large drum on the roof filled with water and a hose pipe coming down. "It was difficult when the weather was bad, but we still enjoyed every minute."

Eventually when Juan created the first bathroom in Fuente Nueva, it was still an outside affair with water taken from a large deposit higher up the mountain. "You had to be very careful and very well organised but it was a special time for us."

Gradually more friends from France came to the area and bought caves, some for holiday homes and others for permanent residences. Juan explains what a fantastic discovery it was because people who had very little money could easily afford a good sized home and they could live well without working to death, which for some was just impossible in France. Juan also tells us that up until recently, the area was known as "la colonia francesa" because of the amount of French people who had arrived. "It's silly really because we were French. Spanish, Polish, Algerian, Cuban and English" Indeed the first English resident arrived here roughly 12 years ago and after living all over the world, is at her happiest here.

Now there is such a mix of people living in Fuente Nueva and Juan is glad to see the change. There are teachers, journalists, artists, photographers and business people and one resident splits his time between New York and Fuente Nueva, such is the beauty of the area he wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

In the beginning, however Juan says that local Spaniards could not understand why people were coming from large towns to live in caves that they themselves had escaped from years earlier. "They couldn't even understand why we even wanted to come to this area as it was very poor with only one shop, one butchers, a doctor and only 4 cars, there wasn't even a telephone."

This lack of telephone in the area caused a serious problem for Juan on one occasion. To use the phone you had to go to Cúllar which is about 27km away. At the time Juan had a large American car and after coming back from buying furniture in Granada, had stopped in Cúllar on the way home to use the phone. "The next day, I awoke to find my cave surrounded by armed policeman," says Juan. Apparently that same evening there had been a murder and on asking residents in Cúllar if they had seen anything strange, they said yes, there was a big American car in the area and an unknown male was driving. The worst thing for Juan was that he still had the rope and knife in his car which he had taken to Granada to help keep his furniture tied down on the roof during transport. "They took my passport and kept armed guard on the property for eight days before eventually finding the culprit. It was not a good experience!"

It did not put Juan off the area nor the people and he had the opportunity to spend even more time here. Orce and Fuente Nueva and surrounding villages are famous as an archaeological site because the area used to be a prehistoric lake and it is said that Orce is home to the oldest prehistoric human remains ever found. Around ten years ago, when this discovery was made, the local town hall asked Juan if he would consider making the largest of his caves into a hotel. At the same time, circumstances surrounding Ismael's work in Madrid meant it was the ideal opportunity for them to go ahead and so "La Veranda" Hotel was born. "We had all the archaeologists, professors and palaeontologists staying with us. They had heard of the caves in the area and all wanted to stay in one during there time here." Although Juan is now looking to gradually wind up the hotel, he has been happily busy over the last ten years or so.

For Juan, there is no one best thing about living in a cave in Fuente Nueva but he enjoys every aspect of life. "Its true the weather is very extreme here but in your cave you are safe and secure, warm in the winter and cool in the summer simply due to the natural insulating properties of the caves." Juan also likes the fact that there are more people coming to the area. "Why not more English or French or German?" He says. "I like to see the area cared for, before there were ruins everywhere but now as more people are coming to the area, I see more life here, more colour, more trees and nice gardens."

The Spanish are also beginning to see a change for the better, young people are staying in the village or even returning whereas before the population was dwindling as young people couldn't wait to get away. "The new people to the area bring with them, an injection of life and money and you can see the benefits to the area in general, I think it's a good thing." To summarise, Juan says:

"Estamos muy privilegiado aqui, tenemos casa impresionantes que son unicos y vivimos en el mejor sitio del mundo"

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